1/2 laugh, 1/2 scoff!

Paint Brush Types

2011-02-01T12:33:00.001+05:30

After the previous one on Drawing Pencils types.

Monday Art - X'mas at Cambridge

2010-02-08T01:15:00.004+05:30

This is from my recent visit to Cambridge. With the lazy UK Sun going down at 4 in the evening, I hit the bed as early as 6! Only to sit up again at 10PM and sketch until late night.

This is the view across the road from my room in Cambridge.

Monday Art - stage II

2010-02-01T01:14:00.003+05:30

Did you know that the great Spanish artist Pablo Picasso had period for specific art types? Else, you would have at least heard about him from Google's Picasa.

As in, Blue period where in shades of blue and green were prominently used, Rose period (his paintings were mostly floral with Roses), Cubism (full of geometric shapes), etcetera. I think knowing or unknowingly every artist goes through such a state, but only some become as noted as Picasso. ;)

After this, I really wanted to sketch the next stage. That is when I caught hold of an old album, and this was one pic which appealed to me. Ain't this kid cute?

Monday Art - Birds

2009-12-21T08:49:00.008+05:30

Just realized that, I have hardly been posting sketches about one of my favorite subject - Birds. Here is one...

Monday Art - Mudra, Hoysala Style

2009-09-28T08:23:00.003+05:30

Sketching Jewelery and their ornate details is really interesting.

Monday Art - Mysore Painting - Patanjali

2009-09-07T09:00:00.004+05:30

This is one of those initial ones. Until this I didn't know that Patanjali was an incarnation of Lord Vishnu.

Tanjore and Mysore Painting - A comparision

2009-08-17T09:15:00.003+05:30

In southern India, two types of gesso art are predominantly found.

# The Mysore style
# The Tanjore style

Each is influenced by the other and thus evolved to where it is now. I wanted to post a comparison chart of the two traditional schools of classical Indian painting, compiled from all those Museum visits and learning.

Tanjore Traditional Art	Mysore Traditional Art
Cloth base mounted on wood.	Paper base mounted on canvas or wood.
For gesso effects, raw lime powder with a tamarind seed paste used.	White lead or Chalk Powder is used along with Arabic gum crystals.
Gesso is applied in high relief	Gesso is applied in low relief
Gold coated silver wafers are used	Pure gold wafers are used
The coating is less durable	The gesso work is long lasting
Numerous other ingredients like Perl, Mirror, beads, sequins and amber is used for embellishing	Traditional works are devoid of such colorful decor.
Most depict scenes from Hindu mythologies specially Vishnu.	Dress and ornaments reflect period fashion with close resemblance to the Mysore kings. Architecture, designs closely resemble to the houses and palaces of Wodeyars.

The characters are not naive and detailed as that in Mysore Style.	Faces of common folk are shown round, while the faces of deities shown slightly elongated.

The paintings are mostly of Vishnu, his incarnations and characters that surround him.

The paintings mostly evolve around Shiva.

And one of my Mysore Painting.

Monday Art - The ultimate

2009-08-10T21:14:00.007+05:30

Been busy and lazy to scan, photograph and post my creations. But, all those pouring mails and requests forced me to start posting again.

This is the much adored one. Never thought this would be the result while I started this.

Monday Art - KudalaSangama

2009-06-01T09:29:00.004+05:30

This place already had an entry on my Travel Blog here. And I also had this collage already in place. So, it was easy to pick that up.

Monday Art - Nanakzaara, Bidar

2009-05-25T08:17:00.005+05:30

No one was keen to pick this up and sketch. I too were a bit reluctant. But, those good old School days reminded me of the Bidar visit. Apart from the Bidar Fort and the water cave temple, I remembered the Guru Nank Jhira, and how much I yearned to buy that Bidri Bangle (silver engraving on Black).

Monday Art - Moodabidre

2009-05-18T09:17:00.002+05:30

Saavira kambadha Basadhi aka The thousand pillar temple is situated at Moodabidri, 37kms from Mangalore. More here.

I don’t remember seeing this, but Mom tells me that, I was too young to register this, while I visited Moodabidre. The lamp towers in the temple always fascinate me.

Monday Art - Kempe Gowda Gopura, Bangalore

2009-05-11T09:16:00.000+05:30

I sketched this for 2 reasons. ONE : I didn’t not have any other temple pics for Bangalore when I wanted to sketch atleast one from each city. TWO : Anoop’s post on Kempe Gowda Gopura inspired me to pick this up. Did you know that Bangalore has 4 such Gopuras?

Monday Art - Bhairava Ganapathi Temple, Udupi

2009-05-04T09:18:00.005+05:30

Haven’t been here, read or seen this in pic. The structure is like a House or Mutt. I choose this as it had a water well in the premises, and most of you know about my fascination for a well.

My picture of an ideal House always has a well. And this is due to my upbringing in the old Agrahara in Mysore. But, I think most of us have a fascination for well. I would never miss a peep into one even now if I come across any.

Monday Art - Nandi Hills

2009-04-27T09:16:00.003+05:30

Bhogha Nanandishwara Temple, Nandi Hills. I have just been there once, as far as I remember and thrice otherwise. But, that visit I remember was after my 10th Std exams. And I was more curious in other things which were all around the place.

Monday Art - Shivagange, Tumkur

2009-04-20T09:15:00.004+05:30

I have visited Shivagange at least a dozen times. This is further up the hill, the foot at which the Siddaganga Mutt is situated. The humble adobe of Sri Sri Shivakumara Swamiji.

Monday Art - Brahma Jeenaalaya, Lakkundi

2009-04-13T09:00:00.004+05:30

Never been here. I loved the slopes between the Gopura and the Sanctum. This reminds me of Badami, Aihole and Pattadakal Temples although I have hundreds of photos from my visit, am yet to sketch them. This Brahma Jainalaya was built by queen Attimabbe. More info here.

Monday Art - Talakad

2009-04-06T09:05:00.005+05:30

Yipeee, there comes Talakad. The link to Talakad post on my Travel Blog is here.

A visit to Talkad made me include the Deserts of Thar and Sahara in my wish list.

Monday Art - Kalale

2009-03-30T08:53:00.003+05:30

I'll start the Temple series with Kalale. This is the front entrance to the famous VenkataramanaSwamy Temple at KaLale. Though I have never been there nor knew where it actually was, but managed to find its website here. Its a protected monument by the Archaeological dept situated 3kms from Nanjangud.

Never knew I would continue sketching Temples which would turn into such admirable number as today. But, this was my first attempt and the most memorable one. At times, I possess some quantity of emotional attachment towards my works.

Mondary Art - Seetha Vanavasa

2009-03-23T09:38:00.002+05:30

Sometime ago (school days to be precise) I decided to, try and sketch one of Raja Ravi Varma's work. Although I was not skilled enough to get the features and expressions right, I still wanted to. I choose RRV’s ‘Shakuntala’ for two reasons.

* I did not have the entire collection of Ravi Varma then.

* I just love the Plam behind her.

And the result......

I have also tried to color only the flowers with Magenta while the rest is just Graphite.

But, of all the people whom I showed this expecting some comments always replied with just a wide smile. Not sure how I had to decode it. RaviVarma’s Shakuntala too infact is not young, suave and beautiful.

Only last year did I get a chance to visit an exhibition of RRV's Lithograph. But, there to my surpise it had a title 'Seetha Vanavaasa'!

Monday Art - Puri Jagannath

2009-03-16T08:54:00.003+05:30

This one is years old. I was at School when I painted this. I wanted to recreate the beautiful white Beach here.

Interestingly enough, the world Juggernaut was originally derived from the form of worship in Puri Jagganath. The name Jagganath means Lord of the Universe in Sanskrit.

Monday Art - Ajanta & Ellora - 3

2009-03-09T09:00:00.006+05:30

This painting of Bodhisatva from Ajanta remains one of my favorites.

During the 4^th century A. D, work began on the Ajanta caves to create a complex of Buddhist monasteries and prayer halls. As centuries passed, numerous Buddhist monks and artisans dug out a set of twenty-nine caves, converting some to cells, and others to monasteries and Buddhist temples. All of these were carved from the rock cliff at Ajanta. These caves are adorned with elaborate sculptures and paintings which have withstood the ravages of time.

Monday Art - Ajanta & Ellora - 2

2009-03-02T10:00:00.004+05:30

I tried this on some special hand made paper. Not only the paper but also the experience turned out to be expensive. It was not friendly for the shades and strokes. Here its stands as proof.

Monday Art - Ajanta Ellora - 1

2009-02-23T09:07:00.011+05:30

I start the Ajanta & Ellora series. This is not the much adored one, but nonetheless a good start.

To the eye - Its definitely straining to look into those photographs and reproduce them on paper.

Colors - This are brighter than the original. At time I stick to the lighter washed away shades, but I still fancy brighter hues most times.

Figures -

Connoisseurs says mine are always 'well fed'. But, when compared to the original they are neat, tidy and well groomed. :-)

Chitra Santhe 2009

2009-02-18T11:13:00.012+05:30

The event which is usually held in the last week of Dec was postponed to Jan this year. Searching for the dates I finally landed at the Chitrasanthe website.

25th Jan, Sunday meant missing the Mysore trip, but 26th Jan was Monday and I still had options.

Chitra Sante is an 'Art Fair' event organized by Karnataka Chitrakala Parishath. It was first conducted in 2003, as a National level event. Artists from all over India showcase their works in this one-day event.

No. of stalls in 2009 : 1500 stalls

No. of Artists in 2009 : over 2000 artists

Costliest painting in 2009 : An Oil Painting for 10 lakhs. (left unsold)

Photographs were allowed for the first time. There were sizable INW members. The Kumara Krupa Road was flooded with people from dawn to dusk appreciating art. I was there a early as 9:30, while people were still setting up stalls.

Inauguration by Governor of Karnataka

# Artwork was varied, but I still knew many more types.

# Most part of what was on sale was oil-on-canvas. I know, thatz the easiest.

# Very few works of sculpture. This compliant is after my recent interest to learn sculpture.

# Terracotta pieces, made me think I was at a handicraft Mela.

# Many pieces spoke about the bare minimal experience and exposure the artist had.

# But, I am still against the concept of selling art on footpath and roads. Adding to that was he haggling crowd. I was definitely not in a Vegetable Market.

On the other side....

However, Chitra Santhe is still a great opportunity for budding artists. And its direct marketing - Artist to Customer. The festive atmosphere on the streets is enjoyable.

Spent a good time observing and recording styles and colors. I was mistaken to a photo-journalist throughout. Since, college days hadn't visited a canteen, CKP definitely has a good Canteen amidst green.

PS : Artists please note, the outlet at CKP sells art material at a good discount to Artists throughout the year. I got up-to-date stuff neither stacked at Crossword nor offered at this price anywhere.

Monday Art - DashaAvatara, Badami

2009-02-16T09:04:00.005+05:30

I had plans to continue with Ajantha & Ellora paintings, but painted varied others before them. This is from a cave at Badami. The 3rd cave temple to be precise. This depicts 4 incarnations of Lord Vishnu out of the 10. i.e Dasha Avatara.

This made me think of painting Lord Shiva. Ardhanarishwara, is what flashed at the moment. But, yet to decide whether to go for graphite or paint. A long pending decision.

Monday Art - Ganesha, Hampi

2009-02-09T09:00:00.005+05:30

After a dozen sketches for the Museum and Archeology Dept (yet to scan and post them here), it was time for a painting series. And so the first one had to be with Lord Ganesha. This is kaDalekaLu Ganesha @ Hampi.

Monday Art - Mysore Painting

2009-02-02T10:40:00.002+05:30

The passion for Art made me explore more about traditional painting. And the obvious starting point was 'Mysore Paintings'.

A detailed post about Mysore Painting to follow.

Monday Art - The Goddess of the Forest

2009-01-26T17:17:00.003+05:30

This is years old, but was left incomplete as I searched for a suitable mount.

Monday Art - Tray Painting

2009-01-05T10:00:00.003+05:30

For long I was planning to take 5 days of PL and spend time sketching & painting. This time I did, thus converting my room into a complete mess.

Sometime while wandering aimlessly I had picked this tray. And the idea of spilling colors suddenly flashed. Thus the result.

This is definitely different from all other pieces. Its brighter than the lot. To some it was African Art, to others it reminded of various others. But, to me its one among the favorites. Dunno if this photo does justice to the actual painting, but, in reality it looks better.

Stained Glass Painting - II

2009-01-01T10:58:00.004+05:30

My recent Stained Glass painting. Wishing readers a Happy 2009.

H&B&HB

2008-11-12T11:56:00.011+05:30

A 5yr kid asked me, "What do the H and B a pencil mean?"

H means hard and B means black.

H pencils are hard, and thus leave less graphite on the paper and are lighter. Whereas, B pencils are soft, and thus leave more graphite on paper, and are darker.

There is F too - Fine Point. These are quite hard, but easy to keep sharp, but too hard for general drawing. Greater the H number, the harder it is (2H is harder than H). Similarly, greater the B , the softer it is (10B is the softest).

HB is kind of intermediate. But its considered reasonably hard for drawing. So, all that's important is the Lead.

The kid continued, " Pencils have never been made of Lead, but is a blend of graphite and clay". As a kid all I was interested was in, how colorful the pencil was and if it had a Rubberrrr.

Marriage Season

2008-05-16T09:55:00.005+05:30

After this StainedGlass painting which I painted for a friend.....

A wall piece with 51 stitches. My next project would be with 108 stitches.

The framed version.

Bharat Scouts and Guides

2008-03-14T13:15:00.014+05:30

With the world witnessing 100 yrs of Scouting and Guiding movement, my blog cannot miss a post.......

Lord Baden Powell (Robert Stephenson Smyth Baden Powell) first started the Boy Scout movement at Brown Sea Island, UK in 1907. And India is at its 98th year! The movement has not only survived but flourished, as well.

Two years down the lane in 1909, Lady Baden Powell started the Guiding movement in UK, and in 1911 in India.

I was 8yrs old, while I was introduced to the movement. And kept myself associated with it for the next 8yrs. Wow! wonderful days were those... :-)

The Royal Blue frock, a triangular scarf, a cylindrical Vogals to keep them right, belt, badges earned, rope & dagger, would make Uniform complete. And its a left-hand-shake there; that's how to greet a fellow Scout/Guide.

Camping outdoor, Trekking, Hiking, Mountaineering are some memorable experiences. Enormous learning and utter fun, were those days.

There is a prescribed curriculum, outdoor schedules and performance-based grading and promotion system. Rashtrapati award (President award) being the highest. I was one short and ended at Rajyapuraskar (State Governor).

Some learnings....

Scout/Guide Promise :

On my honour, I promise that I will do my best; To do my duty to God and my country; To help other people at all times; And to obey the Scout/Guide Law.

Scout/Guide Law :

1. A Scout/Guide is trustworthy.
2. A Scout/Guide is loyal.
3. A Scout/Guide is a friend to all and a brother/sister to every other Scout/Guide.
4. A Scout/Guide is courteous.
5. A Scout/Guide is a friend to animals and loves nature.
6. A Scout/Guide is disciplined and helps protect public property.
7. A Scout/Guide is courageous.
8. A Scout/Guide is thrifty.
9. A Scout/Guide is pure in thought, word and deed.

All these are a century old traditions which are still valuable and valued, unaltered!

Internationally we have - Tony Blair, Hillary Clinton, Steven Spielberg, Bill Gates, Kate Moss, JK Rowling and David Beckam. In India we have Lakshmi Mazumdar, Madan Mohana Malaviya, Kondajee Basappa and Sachin Pilot.

My Stained Glass Painting

2008-01-16T12:40:00.002+05:30

Origin - The glass has been made something approaching 3500 yrs.

Stained Glass - Stained glass were first introduced by Romans in First century A.D, and continued into Gothic in 12th century.

Present Style - The present style has found to be introduced during the Renaissance. They believed that, 'The presence of beautiful objects would lift men's’ souls closer to God'.

During the times the depictions were mostly of Christ and Biblical scenes. During those days, each glass was fully hand-painted and high-fired in kilns.

Basically there are two types of stained glass paintings.

ONE - Glass pieces are etched and stuck on a thick sheet of glass completing a pattern.

TWO - Special paints on glass are used to create the desired design.

Stained Glass colors are available in two types - Water based and Solvent based. One could use either or both of these, as they are long lasting and have a characteristic pungent odour. Stained Glass painting is unique - As they call for more play of solid colors rather than the shaded effect. Most important requirement is that of the Glass-Liner.

I did not have any specific image in mind. However, icon, subject, style and theme - I did. My ambition was to create a world which would enhance and compliment the location and merge with the interiors and architecture.

Wall, frame, Window were out of bounds, as there had already attained salvation. Door is what came to my mind!!

The THREE pieces are to be mounted on the Door as below.

The installation phase is still in-progress, will post a snap on completion.

Da Vinci's Minestrone Soup

2007-12-23T23:53:00.007+05:30

This was Da Vinci's all time favourite. Tried my hand at preparing this delicious Soup.

MINESTRONE SOUP

INGREDIENTS : 4 Tomatoes(300 gms), Carrots(100gms), Onions (50 gms), Spaghetti (25 gms), Ghee/Butter (1Tb Spoon), Garlic (4-5 buds), Cabbage (1 cup), Potato (1), French beans (50 gms), Red Chilly (4), Salt and Pepper.

Method :

# Pressure cook all the veggies in 3 cups of water.

# Mix in a blender and stir. Put the stock for boiling.

# Add the boiled Beans and spaghetti

# Add salt, pepper, chilly and Butter.

# You can add grated Cheese and serve.

PS : The receipe has been flicked from Leonardo Da Vinci's notes not the pic.

BLU

2007-10-04T18:50:00.002+05:30

My fascination for the color blue has been very strong. There was a time when I had every perceivable shade of blue in my wardrobe. Is that what, “wardrobe malfunction” is? But, unlike guys whose knowledge is restricted to the primary colors - Red, Yellow, Blue, Green, Black & White, I had much options.

I had clothes of all shades of Blue present in the Palette. At times similar shade and different texture! For some time Black and Maroon captured my attention, but not for long. Sometime I happened to pick two shirts with a barely perceivable difference in shade, and bought them against the opinion of the sales-woman and my friend, in-spite of they insisting that the two were exactly the same. 'Hey, But they were of different textures and brand too'.

I wore them to office on consecutive days. I curious colleague of mine questioned, "Didn't you go home last night?!?". I have decided to buy 3 more, so that I end up going home only once a week!

A graphic vocabulary

2007-04-17T15:39:00.004+05:30

Warli Painting - Contemporary Tribal art of India

'Warli' is a tribe from Maharashtra. I had come across these kind of paintings while at school, but unaware of what it actually was. All my efforts of trying to find it in books then had failed. Years later, finally I did......

The Painted World of Warlis, is said carry on a tradition stretching back to 2500 or 3000 BC, similar to the murals of 500 and 1000 BC.

This is what the Tribes painted on the walls of their Hut. Clean unflaked walls, smeared by a layer of Cow-dung or red ochre earth, was their 'canvas' and the subject was based on simple forms of life and Mother Earth. Such as the circle inspired by the Moon and Sun, the triangle based on the mountains and trees, and the square, which has no natural equivalent and therefore used to symbolize sacred enclosures. Human bodies always represented with two triangles, which were given extraordinary quality of life and movement. It was just striking and refreshing.

'White' was always the color used for painting. Their white pigment is a mixture of rice paste and water with gum as a binding. They use a bamboo stick chewed at the end to make it as supple as a paintbrush. The lack of regular artistic activity explains the very crude style of their paintings, which were the preserve of the womenfolk.

‘Natural-dyes’ then, was transformed to 'acrylic' on canvas now.

'Canvas Painting', is something that was tried, tested and expired, in my case. 'Cow-Dung', I didn't think of that as a base....

Time for some innovation…

What stuck me, were the few packets of colorful oxides lying in the garage. Not only Red-Oxide, but Black, Blue and Green, too. Those were leftovers from my earlier Interior Designing experimentation.

Initially, Mom and Dad were not ready to spare any wall of their sweet-home for their kiddie’s experiment...

Finally, this is what I managed....

Linking this back to the party at 'The Key Bunch'.

I admire.....

2007-03-12T18:33:00.002+05:30

Although generally recognized as the greatest genius of all times, Leonardo made many colossal mistakes and staggering blunders. Among his most notable faux-pas were tragically unsuccessful experiments in fixing paint for 'The Battle of Anghiari' and 'The Last Supper'; disastrous and hugely wasteful attempts, sponsored by the Signoria of Florence, to divert the Arno River; and a flying machine that never got off the ground. There was also a particularly hilarious failed scheme to automate Ludovico Sforza's kitchen.

Asked to preside as head chef for a major banquet, Leonardo created a grand plan for sculpting each course to be served to the more than two hundred guests. The dishes were designed as miniature works of art. Leonardo built a new, more powerful stove and a complex system of mechanical conveyor belts to move plates around the kitchen. He also designed and installed a massive sprinkler system in case of fire. On the day of the banquet everything that could go wrong did. Ludovico's regular kitchen staff weren't capable of the fine carving that Leonardo required, so the maestro invited more than a hundred of his artist friends to help out. In the vastly overcrowded kitchen, the conveyor system failed, and the fire broke out. The sprinkler system worked all too well, causing a flood and that washed away all the food and a good part of kitchen!

An anecdote to precede my sketch of Leonardo da Vinci.........

Artist, Inventor, Architect, Engineer, Sculptor, Scientist, Painter,Physicist, Botanist, Geologist, Astronomer, Creator....

Achievements!

2007-02-19T16:51:00.002+05:30

This was done 6 yrs ago. Thatz when, I was in my 3rd Semester of Engineering. We had a grim subject - Transducers and Instrumentation.

Adding to this drilling subject was our Professor, who had a disgusting way of teaching. He used to quietly enter the class, write down notes of the topic on the board for the entire hour, turning completely towards the Blackboard; Attendance at the last 5 mins and he used to take leave of the class; Our presence or noise never ever made an impact!

We had only one text - A.K.Sawhney - A course in Electrical and Electronic Measurement and Instrumentation. This was the Bible for Electrical Engg students. I had appeared for all the 3 internals and had a decent score, and a decent target of 35 at exam. I Couldn't practice any other subject, before this exam, rather, load myself mentally. Thus went in search of a wall/door around.

And this piece of wall lay untouched. I had enough of fabric and oil paint in my closet. And here is the result. The semi-circular mirror was fitted a month later, adding to its grandeur.